Chapter 96: Paper Paradise (1/2)
With the gnomes' help, Rino was finally able to start his reed farming. Although the paper factory building was not built and the plot or the sawmill was still just an empty dock, Rino gathered the fairies for the night shift.
He spent the whole day building the treehouse, and now, it is finally completed. Dark magic was convenient, and Rino did not know how he survived this long without knowing its joys.
Using gravity manipulation, Rino tossed planks after planks into his shadow sack effortlessly to carry up to the cypress tree. In fact, he did none of the plank laying or cement slapping with his two bony hands. Everything was done purely using shadow tendrils, and the process was sped up with other elemental magic.
Rino was proud to be a one-man factory capable of doing just about anything in the process line. If there was a spot that needed filling, RIno could jump in and continue the fallen fairy's task if required.
Now, it was finally time to teach these young ones the true art of paper manufacturing. For a magician, papers and books were like food. It was a necessity even if it was considered a luxury for commoners and something optional for nobles.
Grabbing a bunch of harvested reeds, Rino told them to listen up, and he grabbed an enchanted clay knife.
”First, cut the stem open until the inner stalk is left. The rest of the plants can go to the Water Bell Flowers. I don't know if they consume plant carcasses because it would feel like cannibalism but try anyway. If they don't eat dead plant bodies, toss them to the compost pile at the farm.”
The fairies nodded, and Rino sliced the thick inner stem into thin sheets with great precision. One reed stalk made fifteen strips, and Rino emphasised that the strips should be cut with even thickness.
”If it is too thin, the strips will break when it is woven and dried. Keep it consistent around this thickness, the height of the edge of this knife but no higher than that.”
Rino peeled another reed stem to demonstrate the even width. This time, he only cut twelve strips from the inner stem, but when all the strips were placed side by side, they formed a uniform height, impressing the audience.
Next, Rino took a clay basin and filled it with water using water magic. He threw the reed strips into the water and told the fairies to let it soak.
”Normally, it will take three days. However, with dark magic and some time acceleration, it can be done in no time at all.”
This time, it was the goblin shaman who demonstrated the soaking process. In less than a minute, the firm plant fibre strips turned wriggly and soft when Rino scooped them out.
The flexible plant fibre strips were pressed dry so that they no longer dripped but were still slightly damp. Some fairies wondered why their king wasn't using fire magic to heat them fully dry, but they soon got their answer when Rino left them on a rock surface he cut into a flat tabletop for demonstration purposes.